


I Don't Know What's Real Anymore

by TheatreGeek99



Category: Assassins Creed - Fandom, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dream vs. Reality, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Partying, Profanity, identity crisis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 02:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheatreGeek99/pseuds/TheatreGeek99
Summary: Sarah Lane is just your average high schooler, living a happy, carefree life with her best friends Lexie and Nate. Then, one day, her world is turned upside down when, on their way to a field trip, her class's bus crashes and suddenly Sarah wakes up at Abstergo Industries. The mysterious Doctor Rikkin insists upon calling her Clarke and she's having the strangest dreams. What will happen when Sarah realizes the truth about the Animus Project and of the world she's been living in. Will she be able to accept the truth or will she and her friends find a way to escape Doctor Rikkin and the Animus for good?A 'The 100'/Animus AU that nobody asked for, but will hopefully turn out less confusing than it seems.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The story is told in third person limited with a focus on Sarah/Clarke and Nate/Bellamy. There will be dividers (x's) between their present day experiences (at Abstergo), their time in the Animus (as Clarke and Bellamy), and their flashbacks to life as Sarah and Nate. All of the other characters in the 100 are included in each different portion of the story, but it will skip around a lot to include both of their viewpoints and different "memories" from the Animus universe (aka the world of 'The 100). The Animus "memories" will loosely follow the storyline of 'The 100' with some minor tweaks for the sake of the fanfiction. The rating is subject to change, we'll just see where the story goes (I kept it Teen to start just to be safe). Also my apologies for any formatting issues! This is my first time posting on Archive!

### Chapter One:

Clarke is running. The woods around her seem to watch her as she flies over fallen trees and large rocks, sprinting as lithely as a deer. 

“I am Wanheda. Commander of Death,” she thinks to herself as she runs. “And I fear no man.”

“Then why are you running?” asks the voice.

Truth be told, Clarke has no idea why she’s running, she has no idea where the voice came from. She doesn’t know when she started hearing it, rising up from what seemed to be her very soul, she doesn’t know what to make of it.

“I said I fear no man. I never said I didn’t fear myself,” says Clarke.

“How can you escape the monster when the monster is you?” asks the voice curiously, mockingly.

“Get out of my head!” screams Clarke, taking on a burst of speed, running harder and faster than she ever has in her life as she tries to get away from the one person she can never escape.

“My name is Sarah Lane. I’m eighteen years old. I live in Seattle, Washington. We were on a school trip. There was an accident. The bus flipped over. I need to wake up. I need to wake up! Wake up Sarah!”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sarah’s eyes fly open and she jolts upright, painfully dislodging the IV in her hand. She gasps in pain and looks down in confusion, she’s in bed, in a hospital. She has no idea where she is or how she got here. Sarah looks to her right and suddenly her breath catches in her throat.

“Lexie?”

Sarah’s best friend is lying in the bed next to her. Lexie looks bad. She’s hooked up to all sorts of machines and there are bandages all over her. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” suddenly a man in a white lab coat is standing at the foot of her bed.

“Who are you? Where am I? What happened to Lexie?” demands Sarah.

“So many questions,” muses the man with a smile. “You’ll get all the answers you’re looking for in good time Clarke.”

“Clarke? Who’s Clarke? My name is Sarah,” snaps Sarah indignantly. 

“Yes, that’s the name you were made to believe was yours,” croons the man. “But that isn’t your name.”

“Yes. It is,” replies Sarah, an edge of annoyance creeping into her voice. “Why are you acting this way? You’re not a doctor.”

“Yes, very good observation,” replies the man as if in surprise. “And this isn’t a hospital.”

“Then what is it?” demands Clarke, glancing fearfully at Lexie again. “Where are we?”

“You’re currently sitting in one of Abstergo Industries’ finest research facilities.”

“And where is this research facility located?”

“In a location that I am not allowed to disclose to you,” laughs the man. “Don’t you know that it’s rude to pry young lady?”

“I want to go home,” retorts Clarke. “Let us go. My parents will have sent out a search party by now.”

“Oh they already have my dear,” replies the man absently. “But you’ve all been gone for such a long time now that they’ve given up hope of ever finding you.”

“What are you talking about? I just saw them this morning. And who’s ‘all of you’? It’s only me and Lexie,” Sarah can feel the fear rising in her throat like bile, but she suppresses it, continuing to stare the man down with fiery anger in her eyes.

“Again, all in good time,” replies the man, suddenly moving towards Lexie’s bed. 

“Now, what shall we do with this one. She should have woken up by now. Maybe we should help her with that.”

“Don’t touch her!” snaps Sarah.

The man scoffs at her, “Oh, I don’t plan on it.”

Suddenly, several more people in lab coats enter the room along with two very large, black-clad guards. As the people in lab coats swarm around Lexie, the guards move to restrain Sarah, grabbing her forearms and holding her in an iron grip as she fights them.

“I said don’t touch her! Don’t touch her! Leave us alone! Don’t touch her!” screams Sarah, fighting as hard as she can against the guards that hold her.

Sarah watches in horror as one of the lab coat-clad people produces a large syringe and plunges it directly into Lexie’s heart. With a gasp Lexie jerks up off of the bed, her face contorted in pain and shock as the lab coats rush to hold her down.

“Lexie! Lexie!” gasps Sarah, struggling harder against the guards as the lab coats block her view of her friend.

“Sarah?”

“Bring her to the Animus,” orders the man from earlier, standing in the doorway of the room. “And sedate her little friend, she’s starting to get on my nerves.”

“Lexie! Lexie! No, stop, leave her alone!” begs Sarah, as one of the guards holding her produces a sedative. 

“Sarah!” 

Lexie’s panicked scream is the last thing Sarah hears before her world dissolves into darkness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It’s a rainy Monday morning in Seattle and Mr. Houser’s senior Physics class is getting on the bus to go on their field trip to Boeing. Sarah and Lexie run out late, as usual, arm in arm and laughing as they run through the rain, pulling off their hoods as they get on the bus. 

“You’re late girls,” says Mr. Houser in annoyance. “Five minutes late. I’m about to start roll call. Please take your seats.”

“Sorry Mr. Houser,” says Sarah earnestly.

“It won’t happen again Mr. Houser,” chimes in Lexie, the second half of the best friends’ usual response when they come in late together, which is almost every day.

Mr. Houser just rolls his eyes and the two girls make their way giggling down the aisle and into a seat near the back of the bus. As soon as they sit down the person in the seat in front of them turns around revealing Nate Hunter, his dark, shaggy hair flopping in his eyes as he shoots the girls his signature smirk.

“Ladies. Having a little fun before class now were we?”

“Ugh, turn around Nate,” laughs Sarah as she teasingly turns his head away. “You’re so gross!”

Nate does as he’s told and turns around with another smirk, going back to the conversation he was having with Ben Oliver across the aisle. When he’s turned around Lexie elbows Sarah teasingly in the side and wiggles her eyebrows at her earning a punch in the arm and a joking “Shut up!” from her friend. 

“Alright everyone, settle down now!” shouts Mr. Houser from the front of the bus. “I need to take role! Evan Andrews?”

A black clad arm comes up from a seat at the back of the bus in response. Sarah turns to see Evan slumped in the seat closest to the emergency exit, earbuds already firmly in place, dressed in all black as always. From a seat near the middle, she can hear snickering and she turns around to see Ainsley and Riley snickering together, glancing back at Evan as they do. Sarah rolls her eyes but smiles a bit whens she sees Nate reach over his seat to subtly flick Ainsley in the shoulder. She turns to argue with him, but his eyes tell her she needs to keep her mouth shut and she whirls around in a pout. 

“Wait...why are they here?” asks Lexie in reference to Nate’s little sister and her best friend.

“They’re supposed to be on the other bus, but there wasn’t any room,” answers Sarah in reply. “The sophomore Chemistry class is going on the trip too.”

“Great...that’s just what we all need. A bunch of children running around,” huffs Lexie in annoyance. 

“Eric Davidson?”

“Here sir,” replies a quiet voice as a hand is raised in the very front seat of the bus. 

“Here sir,” mimics Robert from his place in the back near Evan, as he raises his hand and sticks out his lip in a pout before his expression contorts and he goes into a cruel laugh. “Stupid fag!” 

“Mr. Wagner, that is quite enough from you!” shouts Mr. Houser, his face turning bright crimson with anger. “Keep this up and I’ll send you off this bus with a call to your parents.”

This shuts Robert up instantly and Mr. Houser continues with the roll call as Eric turns towards the window, tears brimming in his eyes though he tries to hide them. 

“Gosh, they’re so awful to him,” mutters Lexie as she glances back at Robert and his gang of miscreants. “What douchebags.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” replies Sarah. “For once, I’d like to see them get through a whole school day without insulting him.”

“Impossible,” replies Lexie which earns a smile from Sarah. 

“Nathaniel Hunter?”

“Right here!” shouts Nate, raising his hand. 

A couple of girls start giggling when Nate’s name is called and shooting him what they think are sexy glances over the seats. Nate gives them his signature wink in response causing an even larger eruption of squealing and giggles. Lexie and Sarah look at each other and burst out laughing. Nate turns around and cocks an eyebrow at them.

“What can I say,” he says with a perfectly white smile. “The ladies love me.”

“You’re such a prick!” laughs Sarah. 

“I gotta give the people what they want!” laughs Nate in response.

“Yeah, an overgrown man-child in a varsity jacket,” retorts Lexie teasingly.

“Hey, that’s what’s considered sexy these days,” chuckles Nate. “You girls should take notes.”

“Turn around,” laughs Sarah again and Nate complies.

“Sarah Lane, I know you’re here,” says Mr. Houser as he moves down the list.

Just then there’s a knock on the bus doors and they grind open to reveal a female teacher, her jacket held over her head to protect her from the rain. 

“I just wanted to make sure that Ainsley Hunter and Riley Hastings are both on this bus,” says the teacher. “I finished roll call on the lead bus and we’re about to pull out, I just have to make sure those two aren’t off causing trouble somewhere.”

“Miss Hunter, Miss Hastings?” calls Mr. Houser.

“Here!” shout both girls in unison, raising their hands in sync. 

“Oh good, thank you, Mr. Houser,” replies the teacher before turning to the girls. “You two stay out of trouble now!”

“Yes, Ms. Brake,” reply the girls innocently, again, perfectly in sync. 

Ms. Brake gets off the bus then and as Mr. Houser continues roll call, the lead bus pulls away from the curb and heads out of the parking lot. Nate leans over the seat in front of him again, putting one hand on Ainsley’s shoulder and the other on Riley’s.

“You two stay out of trouble now,” he says in an imitation of Ms. Brake’s voice.

“Cut it out Nate!” laughs Ainsley as she throws his hand off. 

“Yeah Nate, cut it out!” chimes in Riley as she too throws the older boy’s hand off, though more begrudgingly than Ainsley did.  
“She has such a crush on him,” whispers Sarah to Lexie. “He hangs the stars in the sky.”

“Ugh, I remember when we were her age and boys were more than just self-absorbed pricks,” laughs Lexie. “Oh to be young again.”

“Caitlyn Marquette?”

“Here.” 

Caitlyn is sitting three rows behind Eric, her hair half down and half up in a bun at the back of her head. Sarah watches her adjust her black-rimmed glasses and then flip open a textbook. The girl is already armed with a notebook and three different pens to take notes on the field trip as well as her Spanish textbook to study for the next test, which just so happens to be two weeks away. Sarah thinks to herself absently that Caitlyn looks like a female Clark Kent. 

“Ben Oliver?”

“Here!” Ben’s varsity jacket-clad arm rises lazily into the air and there is another chorus of giggles from the girls on the bus. 

Together Ben and Nate run the school. The two hottest boys at Crestmont High. The perfect guy and the bad boy, both dreamy and desirable, and both single, much to the joy and angst of every girl in school. Every girl it seemed except for Sarah, Lexie, and Ainsley who couldn’t care less about the boys and their fame.

“Alexis Rodriguez I know you’re here,” continues Mr. Houser as he moves down his list. 

“Present and accounted for!” fires back Lexie earning some laughs.

“Robert Wagner I know you’re here.”

This time Mr. Houser doesn’t get a witty response, only a death stare and a middle finger when he looks back down at his roster.  
“And finally, Mr. Thatcher Zang.”

“Here,” the well dressed Asian boy with the great hair in the middle of the bus raises his hair.

“Alright that’s everyone, driver, we’re ready to go,” says Mr. Houser cheerfully as he takes his seat in the front row across the aisle from Eric. 

The bus pulls away from the curb and the students erupt into conversation again. The rain hammers the windows as the bus drives lazily through town towards the highway. When it gets on the highway though and picks up speed, it’s as if the rain becomes bullets, pelting the bus with such intensity that the windows shake.

“Hey Lex,” asks Sarah with a mischievous glint in her eye. “So I heard a certain someone stopped by your dad’s garage yesterday. Are you going to give me the details now or am I going to have to blackmail them out of you.”

Lexie shoots her a cheeky grin and turns to look out of the window nonchalantly, her finger tracing patterns in the condensation absently.

“Oh it was just your average run of the mill trip to the garage,” muses Lexie dully. “He came in, talked to my dad, pulled his car in, my dad started working under the hood, Wes and I made out in the alley…”

“Wait! Shut up! You did not!” 

Lexie waits a few seconds, trying to suppress her laughter, but she can’t contain it and bursts out laughing. Sarah slaps her on the arm in teasing annoyance. 

“Dammit Lex, I thought you were serious!” 

“I know, it was hilarious!”

“You had me really excited!”

“He just came in to get his car fixed Sare geez, this isn’t ‘Sex and the City’,” laughs Lexie. “Besides, Wes doesn’t even know I exist.”

“Um, yeah he does,” retorts Sarah. “Every time he sees you he looks up from his books or his black coffee or his sexy motorcycle and gives you that cute little smile. He even waved at you once!”

“So? That doesn’t mean he knows who I am,” laughs Lexie. “He doesn’t even know my name.”

“Why don’t you talk to him Lex?” asks Sarah sincerely, dropping her tone from teasing to one of sincerity. “He’s only two years older than you. He’ll only be in town for so long, I heard he’s transferring to a university in the fall.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to hurry up then,” muses Lexie wistfully.

Suddenly the bus lurches to the side as if to avoid a pothole. The students all let out a collective gasp and Sarah and Lexie grab onto the top of Nate’s seat to steady themselves. They look up and find that Nate too is steadying himself, one hand on the back of his seat and the other on the top of his sister’s. 

“Everything okay driver?” asks Mr. Houser in concern, rising from his seat to stand beside the bus driver’s seat. 

Just as Mr. Houser reaches out a hand to touch the bus driver though there is a loud sound like an explosion and suddenly the bus goes careening off of the road. The bus flips over into a roll and aLl of a sudden everything starts to go in slow motion for Sarah. As her world inverts she can see shards of broken glass, and girls’ hair going airborne, she can see Nate lunging towards Ainsley and Riley, she can see Mr. Houser’s head slowly, slowly crunching down into the roof of the bus, his neck cracking as it does. Beside her, she can see Lexie mid-scream falling towards her and reaching for the seatback. And then time starts up again and Sarah’s world goes black.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Animus Clarke and her friends reach Becca's lab and make some difficult decisions. In a flashback, Sarah and Lexie attend Ben's Halloween party.

### Chapter Two:

“Clarke...Clarke! Wake up, we have to go!” 

Clarke wakes up abruptly, sitting bolt upright and rubbing her eyes blearily. The world around her is pitch black, it has to be the middle of the night.

“What...what’s going on?”

“We have to get moving, we need to make it to Becca’s lab before daybreak.”

And suddenly Ben’s face is swimming above her.

“Ben?”

“What? No, Clarke, it’s me, Miller. Did you hit your head on a rock or something?” asks the boy in confusion. “Come on, we have to get going.”

Miller helps her to her feet and Clarke glances around the small campsite. She catches sight of Emori packing up their meager supplies and Roan stomping out the last embers of a dying campfire. When camp has been packed away, the foursome starts off through the woods again. Miller leads the way with his gun drawn, looking for any signs of trouble, and Roan takes the back to do the same thing. Emori and Clarke walk in the middle of the line, Emori just behind Clarke at her right shoulder.

“We should be getting close,” muses Emori. “That’s the outcrop John told me to watch for.”

Clarke looks to her left where Emori is pointing and sees a jagged, rocky outcrop silhouetted in the moonlight. They continue their trek in silence for what feels like hours until Miller stops up ahead, raising a fist to let his group know to do the same thing. Roan moves to his side and Miller turns to the girls.

“I think we found it.”

Clarke and Emori move up to stand beside the boys and find themselves at the edge of the forest on the edge of a small drop off looking down at a rocky valley. Across the valley lies a modern looking building with thick stone walls and a metal roof.

“Yep, this is definitely it,” mutters Clarke as she moves to take the lead. “Let’s go, my mom will be waiting.”

The others follow her as she makes her way slowly down the steep hill and then picks her way gingerly over the rocks in the valley. Finally, the little foursome is standing before a side door embedded in a wall of windows. What lies inside Becca’s lab is nothing like what Clarke thought it would be.

The windows look into a beautiful modern kitchen with white tile floors and walls and beautiful polished oak cabinets. There is a small living space with two white, plush couches and a flat screen TV and a long dining table with the capacity to seat up to twelve. And right in the middle of it all, cooking chow mein of all things, is John Murphy.

“John!” gasps Emori as she rushes across the room and into his arms.

Murphy is caught off guard by their arrival, but one look at Emori and his face lights up with a smile. Miller and Roan collapse onto the couches in exhaustion as Emori and John reunite and Clarke follows Emori tentatively into the kitchen. John and Emori share a kiss before they break apart and Emori gazes around her in wonder.

“This place is amazing!” she gasps.

John smiles at her amazement, but his expression morphs into one of uncertainty when he catches sight of Clarke. Clarke just wanders into the kitchen further though, glancing at the room around her until she’s standing beside the stove and Murphy’s half-finished meal.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” says Clarke, shooting Murphy a smirk.

“Nice to see you too Griffin,” replies Murphy with a smirk of his own.

“Where’s my mom?” asks Clarke, eyebrows furrowing with concern.

“She’s with Raven…” Murphy trails off and Clarke’s concern mounts.

“What’s wrong? Is Raven okay?”

“She’s having seizures Clarke,” replies Murphy solemnly. “Bad ones. The EMP we were worried would give her brain damage...it caused her to have a stroke...it’s pretty bad Clarke.”

“Oh my gosh…” Clarke feels herself tearing up. “I have to see her.”

“Clarke go take a shower, get some rest,” says Miller from his place on the couch. “There will be plenty of time to see Raven later when your mom has taken care of her and she’s gotten some rest of her own.”

“Miller’s right,” replies Emori with a sympathetic look. “Raven’s in good hands, your mom will take care of her.”

Clarke nods weakly then turns to Murphy, “Murphy where’s the nearest bathroom.”

“There’s a guest room with its own bathroom upstairs first door on the right,” replies Murphy, looping an arm around Emori’s waist and turning back to his cooking. “You can use that and then sleep in the bedroom. I’ll send your mom to come get you in the morning.”

Clarke nods and then leaves without another word, following Murphy’s directions until she stumbles upon the most beautiful, and comfortable bedroom she’s ever seen. The decorations are all white and gold and the soft light of a bedside lamp illuminates the whole scene in a soft orange glow. Clarke makes her way into the bathroom and into one of the most luxurious showers she’s ever seen.

The hot water rushes over her and, to her disgust, creates rivulets in the layer of dirt that covers her skin. She starts to furiously scrub herself, washing away the dirt and grime and rubbing the shampoo into a thick lather in her hair. When she finishes she stands under the water again, letting it wash over her in waves. All the pain of the journey and all the stress of the day seems to flood out of her. She hasn’t had a proper shower since the Ark, it seems like that was an eternity ago.

When the shower concludes, Clarke makes her way into the bedroom, begrudgingly changing back into her own clothes before laying back on the bed. It’s so unnaturally soft that Clarke almost cries. She lays this way for a long time in an effort to fall asleep before she drags the comforter with her onto the floor. The hard surface under her side reminds her of her cot back at Arkadia and she falls asleep in minutes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Mom, we’ll be fine, it’s just a silly little Halloween party,” shouts Sarah reassuringly as she grabs her keys from the hook and starts into the living room to retrieve her jacket. “Lexie and I are going to be perfectly safe, Nate will take care of us.”

“I’m not worried about a ‘silly little Halloween party’, I’m worried about silly little teenagers,” retorts Rachel Lane as she follows her daughter into the living room. “And are you sure about that costume? That seems a little racy for a cop…”

“The costume is just fine, trust me, some of the other girls will show up wearing much less,” scoffs Sarah. “Mom, this isn’t my first party. I know how to handle myself.”

“That’s just what I’m afraid of…”

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry honey, but it’s true! When I was your age parties weren’t what they are now, they were for birthdays or weddings, and we were always home by eight!” says Mrs. Lane in exasperation. “Not to mention the parents of the host were always around!”

“Mom, come on, it’s Ben Oliver. He’s like Mr. Perfect or something,” laughs Sarah as she pulls her jacket on and heads for the door. “We’re going to have a great time, his older brother will be there to monitor things, and we’ll be home by one. Okay?”

“Okay,” sighs Mrs. Lane with a relieved smile. “Just...just be safe okay sweetheart? Take care of Lexie and Nate too.”

“Me, take care of them,” replies Sarah with a raised eyebrow. “I thought that was Nate’s job.”

“I know you, honey, you’ve always been the one to look out for them,” replies Mrs. lane with a smile.

Sarah returns the smile then heads for the door, she heads out to her car as her mom turns on the porch lights.

“Sarah!”

“Yeah, mom?”

“Is Lexie staying over tonight?”

“Probably, is that okay?”

“That’s just fine honey, I’ll make up the trundle bed for her in your room.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“Sarah!”

“Yeah, mom?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too mom.”

Sarah gets in the car and back out of the driveway, waving one last goodbye to her mother on the porch before heading towards Lexie’s house. She turns the music up loud and sings along softly as she drives out of her neighborhood to the south side of town to pick up Lexie. When she pulls up outside of Lexie’s small, stucco house with the Mediterranean style decoration. 

She honks the horn in their usual pattern and the front door opens revealing Lexie followed by her dad who gives her a quick hug then stands in the doorway as Lexie makes her way down the front walk to Sarah’s car, he waves to Sarah when Lexie gets in and she and Lexie wave back as they pull away from the curb.

As soon as they’re on the road they glance at each other, turn the radio up, and start singing and dancing along. After a few minutes though, Lexie turns to Sarah with a knowing smile. 

“Okay, now tell me, does the reason why you’re in such a good mood have anything to do with the fact that a certain Mr. Hunter will be at this party?”

“Oh my God Lex, we’ve been over this,” laughs Sarah as she turns the radio down to hear her friend better. “Just because I like Nate doesn’t mean that we’re together.”

“I’m just saying!” laughs Lexie as she gazes through the windshield at the sparkling city lights. “You two have known each other since the fifth grade! Don’t you think it’s time for you to admit your feelings for each other and become the school’s next power couple?”

“Well that escalated quickly!” teases Sarah as she pulls into Ben’s neighborhood. 

“You two would rule the school!” exasperates Lexie, throwing her hands up in frustration. “You’d have prom king and queen in the bag!” 

“Well maybe I don’t want to be prom queen,” suggests Sarah just as she’s turning onto Ben’s private street, pulling through the large, wrought iron gates that have been opened for the occasion.

“Who wouldn’t want to be prom queen!?”

“Wow, Ben really went all out this year didn’t he?”

Sarah pulls her car over to the side of the road and parks down the road from Ben’s. The boy’s mansion is lit up like a Christmas tree and decorated in what looks to be the contents of an entire Halloween store. People are swarming seemingly everywhere, on the walkway leading up to the house, on the front porch, on the large balconies that wrap around the upper levels. 

Ben Oliver may be the most perfect guy in school, but he has a reputation for being one of the biggest partiers in the state. His parties are legendary and people come from all over to attend them. The main reason why Ben is able to have such loud, extravagant parties is because his family’s mansion sits on a hill overlooking the entire city and about twenty miles from any other civilization. 

“Let’s go!” shouts Lexie excitedly, already halfway out of the car and gesturing wildly for Sarah to follow her. 

Sarah does and the two girls race up the walkway to the mansion, arm in arm and laughing like school girls. When they make it inside they’re greeted almost instantly by Ben, who appears around the corner with a flourish of his long black cap.

“Good evening!” he announces in an imitation of Dracula, his fake fangs glinting in the light of the main entry’s chandelier. “And velcome to my house of haunts!”

Nate is close behind Nate, dressed as a werewolf complete with furry gloves and a mask that he pulls to the top of his head when he sees the girls. 

“What do have here?” he teases as he looks over their costumes. “Sexy cop and sexy Batgirl, I like it.”

“Do you have to add the sexy before every costume?” asks Sarah incredulously. “It kind of makes you sound like a tool.”

“Well maybe I am a tool,” retorts Nate before he gets a mischievous glint in his eye. “Or maybe I’m just a werewolf on the hunt for a mate.”

“You’re such a flirt!” shouts Lexie in mock annoyance. “I’m going to go get a drink. Sarah, you take care of werewolf boy here.”

Nate wiggles his eyebrows at Sarah, but she smirks at him and goes off after Lexie, “Maybe next time Teen Wolf.”

Lexie leads the two girls through the swirling mass of people to one of the many kegs that Ben has set up in the kitchen. She produces two Solo cups and fills them both with beer, handing one to Sarah and keeping the other for herself. 

“Lex,” says Sarah sternly when her friend hands over the cup. “I’m the designated driver tonight, remember? No drinking for me.”

“Ugh, oh yeah, I almost forgot that my best friend doesn’t know how to have fun at a party,” retorts Lexie, taking the cup back and handing it off to a random guy in the nearby crowd. “Well, more for me.”

“Don’t drink too much tonight okay?” says Sarah in concern. “I don’t want you getting sick...or worse…”

“Relax Sarah, that’s why I have you,” teases Lexie as she takes a sip of her drink. “You’ll take care of me.”

“I always do,” sighs Sarah. “Go ahead, have fun.”

Lexie gives her a wild-eyed look before chugging the rest of her drink and quickly going for a refill. Suddenly Sarah catches sight of Nate in the crowd again, he looks angry as he moves his way through the crowd purposefully, his eyes trained on a group of people on the other side of the room. Sarah wonders why for a split second until she realizes who’s in the group. Ainsley, dressed as a racy Queen of Hearts and Riley dressed as an equally racy Alice.

“Ainsley! What the hell are you doing here?” demands Nate when he reaches the group of sophomores. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re here!?”

“No, they think I’m at Riley’s house studying,” says Ainsley like it’s obvious, twirling around her scepter as she speaks. “But we got bored and decided to show up here instead.”

“You need to go home right now!” shouts Nate angrily. “Both of you. Come on, I’m driving you back to Riley’s house.”

“No! You can’t tell me what to do!” retorts Ainsley as if she were eight again. “I’m having fun and we literally just got here like ten minutes ago!” 

“I don’t care if you’re having fun, you’re not supposed to be out partying, especially not here,” fires back Nate. “Mom and Dad said that next time they find out you went out they’d send you off to boarding school. Do you remember that conversation?”

“Mom and Dad are full of it,” replies Ainsley, though she seems unsure. “They wouldn’t actually send me away.”

“I think you should listen to your brother,” replies Sarah as she comes to stand beside Nate. “Ainsley you are way too young to be at a party like this and your parents are really serious about wanting you to stop going out.”

“Really Sarah, why are you even involved!” retorts Ainsley bitterly.  
“Because like me, she cares about you and doesn’t want to see either of you getting hurt tonight,” replies Nate, his voice softening, offering Sarah a quick smile. “Now let’s go, my truck’s parked out front.”

With an angry groan of protest, Ainsley grabs Riley by the wrist and leads her towards the front door. Nate turns to follow them, but before he leaves he mouths a quick thank you to Sarah.

“You’re leaving already man?” asks Ben when Nate passes him. “But the party’s just started!”

“I’ll be back, I just have to drop my sister and her little friend here back at Riley’s house,” replies Nate. “My parents would kill me if I let her stay.”

“That’s alright man, see you later,” replies Ben, slapping Nate on the back as both of them turn and go their separate ways.

Sarah watches Nate and his sister leave before going back through the throng of partiers to find Lexie. She searches the whole ground floor with no sign of her friend so she heads upstairs to check the balconies. Sure enough, she finds Lexie amidst a crowd of people dancing, drink in hand. Sarah is about to call out to her friend when she realizes who she’s dancing with. Wes Rhodes is dancing suspiciously close to Lexie and laughing at her friend’s drunken antics. It’s always amazed Sarah how little time it takes Lexie to get totally wasted or find a boy to dance with. 

“Sarah! Hey!” 

Sarah whirls around when she hears her name to find Thatcher waving at her from across the balcony, drink in hand and surrounded by student council girls. Sarah walks over to them with her class president smile on and accepts a drink from Thatcher as he turns from a nearby tap and hands it to her.

“Hey Thatch, I didn’t expect to see you here tonight,” exclaims Sarah. “I heard you had to watch Sammy for the night.”

“My folks canceled date night last minute because he came down with a fever,” explains Thatcher. “So here I am. How are things, Sarah? I heard about your mom’s latest sale, congratulations!”

“Thanks, she’s super proud of it,” replies Sarah with a smile. “Making a sale like that for such a prominent client was huge for her.”

“The governor himself,” breathes Thatcher, pride creeping into his voice as well. “That really is awesome.”

“Oh my gosh!” exclaims one of the girls surrounding Thatcher suddenly. “Is that Caitlyn Marquette!?”

“Oh my gosh it is!” gasps another girl as they all start craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the girl making her way onto the balcony.

“She never comes to parties…” muses Thatcher as he shoots Sarah a confused look. “Not since…”

“I know,” replies Sarah mystified as she stares at the girl. 

Caitlyn seems nervous, twisting her hands together in the hem of her shirt and adjusting her glasses seemingly every five seconds. She seems unsure of where to go or who to talk to and Sarah feels a pang of empathy for her. Caitlyn looks completely out of place. She isn’t even wearing a costume.

“I’m going to see if she wants to hang with us for a while,” announces Sarah suddenly as she marches towards Caitlyn purposefully.

When Caitlyn sees her coming she stiffens up like a deer in headlights and looks around wildly as if searching for an escape. Sarah just shoots her one of her winning smiles though and approaches her as if she were a potential voter in the student council election.

“Hi there, it’s Caitlyn right?” asks Sarah when she reaches the girl, extending her hand as if entering a job interview. “My name is Sarah Lane, you might know me as the student body president of Crestmont High.”

“Hi…” replies Caitlyn nervously as she shakes Sarah’s hand. “Yeah...it’s Caitlyn…”

“Well Caitlyn, I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out with a few of my friends and me over there,” says Sarah, gesturing to Thatcher and the girls who wave when they see her. “You just didn’t seem like you had anyone to talk to.”

“Oh...um...yeah...yeah sure...I’ll come hang out with you guys,” when Caitlyn says the words ‘hang out’ they come off as awkward and unsure and Sarah has to stifle a smile. 

“Come on then, let me introduce you,” says Sarah as she takes Caitlyn by the hand and half drags half leads her through the crowd to her friends.

“Everyone, this is Caitlyn,” announces Sarah when they’ve rejoined the group. “Caitlyn, this is Thatcher Zang and some of our other student council members.”

“Nice to meet you,” mumbles Caitlyn sheepishly, looking more at the ground than the group.

“You want a drink?” offers one of the girls as she reaches towards the tap. “It might help you loosen up a bit. You seem really stressed out.”

“Oh uh...no thanks…” replies Caitlyn in a rush. “I don’t drink.”

“Okay then, suit yourself,” replies the girl with a shrug as she fills a Solo cup with beer for herself and takes a long swig.

“So, Caitlyn,” says Thatcher, shooting the girl a smile. “Have you ever considered becoming a part of student council?”  
“Yes,” replies Caitlyn. “But I can’t. I have to focus on studying. You know. All those AP tests and scholarship applications and I have to retake the ACT again…”

“I thought you were in the top three scores in the school though,” interjects Sarah suddenly. “Didn’t you score like a 35?”

“Yeah...I did…” replies Caitlyn in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing pink.

“Holy crap that’s amazing!” exclaims Thatcher. “I only scored like a 25! Why would you have to retake it?”

“I need a 36,” replies Caitlyn. “I can’t quit just one point away from perfect.”

“Yeah but Caitlyn, a 35 is an amazing score,” says Sarah gently. “That’ll get you into pretty much every university in the world.”

Caitlyn is about to reply when suddenly there’s a deafeningly loud crash from inside the house. Everybody stops what they’re doing and turns to look through the massive windows that look out onto the balcony. A fight has broken out in the living room, two very large college-aged guys are trying to strangle each other, rolling around on the ground. The crash came when they hit the ground and destroyed a glass coffee table in the middle of the room. 

“What the hell is going on!” shouts Ben as he comes rushing into the room and joins the other football players trying to pull the guys apart. 

There’s another loud crash as the fighters knock down and break a lamp. The shouting gets louder and louder and suddenly stops.  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Animus, Clarke and her mother make some difficult decisions. In the real world, Sarah receives an unexpected visitor.

### Chapter Three:

Clarke sits bolt upright in bed just as another crash sounds from downstairs. She throws the covers off of herself and leaps to her feet, racing out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. Once she’s in the kitchen she can see the source of all the noise. Roan is on the ground with his arms around the neck of a Grounder man, the side door hangs on its hinges, the coffee table and a lamp are broken on the ground. Miller and John are trying to help Roan subdue the Grounder.

“What the hell is going on!?” suddenly a female voice cuts across the din and Clarke turns to find her mother standing in a doorway on the other side of the room.

“A Grounder broke in!” explains Miller as he and John wrestle the Grounder’s legs. “He was armed. Roan caught him and took him down, but he’s too strong for us!”

“Jackson, run to the lab and get a reaper stick,” instructs Abby as she crosses the room to the flailing pile of limbs that the men have formed on the floor.

In a few seconds, Jackson returns with the reaper stick and hands it over to Abby who jabs it into the Grounder man’s neck and press the plunger down hard. Instantly, the Grounder stops fighting and falls limp in Roan’s hold, his head lolling to the side and his body slumping to the floor.

“How did he get in here without tripping an alarm?” asks Miller incredulously, turning to Abby for an answer.

“I don’t know, he must have found a way around it,” replies Abby. “It’s a good thing Roan was on the lookout.”

“I slept down here,” explains Roan. “With a wall of glass like that, I didn’t think we’d be safe. I was right.”

Abby stands up then, brushing off her hands on her pants and brushing the hair out of her face. Clarke moves further into the room.

“Mom?”

Abby’s head whips up at the sound of Clarke’s voice and when she sees her, her face breaks into a huge smile, “Clarke.”

The mother and daughter hug each other tightly before releasing each other, Clarke looking into the smiling brown eyes of her mom and realizing just how much she’s missed her.

“When did you get here?” asks Abby, brow furrowing in confusion. “I thought I’d get the chance to see you.”

“Earlier in the evening,” explains Clarke sheepishly. “Murphy said you were with Raven though, I didn’t want to bother you. I figured I see you in the morning. How is Raven?”

Abby’s face goes dark then, her expression growing solemn, “Not good I’m afraid. I assume Murphy told you about the stroke, and the seizures.”

Clarke nods gravely, “He said she had a bad one just before we got here.”

“Yes,” muses Abby. “Probably the worst I’ve ever seen. She’s pushing herself too hard, trying to find a way to help us all survive the radiation. Making nightblood in space.”

“Except now we’ve lost a barrel of hydrazine,” mutters Clarke angrily. “Those damn Grounders. If it hadn’t been for their attack we’d still have all of it. It was an arrow you know. It pierced the side of the barrel and it all leaked out by the time we got back to Arkadia.”

“I know, it wasn’t your fault though Clarke,” says Abby gently. “You can’t blame yourself for every mistake.”

“It’s hard sometimes Mom,” mumbles Clarke, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. “I’m their leader, they look to me for everything, and then I go and let them down like this. That hydrazine could have saved all of our lives and now…”

“Clarke the hydrazine wasn’t guaranteed to work,” interjects Abby gently. “In fact, Raven and I were prepared to die in a crash landing once we came back to Earth. There was no way to save both us and the nightblood.”

“Mom...you never told me…”

“I know, I should have, but I didn’t want you to try and stop me,” replies Abby. “If anything I would have told you to try and stop Raven because even I couldn’t do that.”

“There has to be another way,” mutters Clarke as she looks towards where the men are tying up the Grounder and dragging him towards the lab led by Jackson.

“There might be…” replies Abby wistfully. “But it’s risky…”

“As risky as going back to space then crash landing a rocket?” asks Clarke incredulously.

“Clarke...it’s not humane…”

“What do you mean it’s not humane? If it could save our lives…”

“We can test the nightblood serum on an actual person, here, on the ground.”

“What do you mean?” asks Clarke warily, eyeing her mother skeptically.

“I mean that it’s possible for us to inject someone with nightblood and then...and then expose them to radiation to see if the nightblood can save them,” replies Abby quickly, nervous to see Clarke’s reaction.

“How would we choose who to test?”

Clarke’s question catches her mother off guard and she stutters for a few seconds before regaining her composure and continuing, her voice steeled with resignation, “I think our test subject just broke through the door.”

“You want to test the Grounder?”

“I don’t want to test anybody, but this could be the only way…”

“He’s not one of our people.”

“Clarke he’s still a human being…”

“I think we should do it.”

“Clarke…”

“Test the Grounder.”

Abby goes silent at this, studying her daughter’s face as she stares at the remnants of the fight. Clarke’s expression is hard, but her eyes are filled with a sadness that Abby has never seen before. She knows that Clarke is doing her best, that she’s making what she believes is the right choice to protect her people, but she’s never seen Clarke this way before. She never thought her daughter would go this far.

Suddenly Clarke turns back to Abby, her eyes are misty but she holds her tears back and makes her voice steady again, “Can you take me to see Raven?”

“Yes, yes of course,” replies Abby hurriedly. “She’s upstairs.”

Clarke follows her mother back upstairs and down the hallway to the farthest door on the right. Behind the door is a small bedroom with the same white and gold style decorating as Clarke’s. But the person lying on the bed is not who Clarke expects to see.

“Lexie?”

Suddenly, Clarke feels her head start to spin and she grips the door frame to steady herself. Abby’s eyes light up with concern as Clarke feels herself start to tip forward, slowly slipping away. This isn’t real. This isn’t right. That’s not Raven. That’s Lexie. Lexie.

“My name is Sarah Lane and I have to wake up.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The bright, fluorescent light blinds Sarah as she comes too and she finds herself closing her eyes tight against it. It takes a few more minutes before she’s able to open her eyes completely again and take in the world around her. She’s back in the same room as before. The room in the Abstergo research facility. When she turns her head to look for Lexie’s bed though, she finds that it’s gone. She’s about to get out of bed when the door opens and stops her.

“Hello Clarke.”

“My name isn’t Clarke.”

The man from before comes to stand at the foot of the bed again, his eyes glinting curiously as he studies Sarah, he licks his lips and she feels her stomach lurch in disgust.

“How are you feeling?”

“What the hell is happening to me? What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”

The man smiles before speaking again, “I believe we haven’t been formally introduced. Sarah, my name is Doctor Alan Rikkin, I’m a scientist here at Abstergo Technologies. I’m overseeing your wing of this experiment for its head, my daughter, Doctor Sophia Rikkin.”

“What are you doing to me?” demands Sarah angrily. “Where’s Lexie?”

“You just saw Raven in your simulation,” replies Doctor Rikkin coolly. “You saw her just before you came out of it. You really must stop interrupting the sync darling, it’s getting very tedious.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” growls Sarah. “If you’re referencing that weird ass dream I keep having…”

“It's not a dream.”

“That what is it!?” shouts Sarah, her irritation morphing quickly into fury. “Why do you keep calling me Clarke!? Why do I keep dreaming that that’s my name!? Why did I see Ben and Lexie!?”

“I told you already, those are not dreams,” replies Doctor Rikkin calmly, not even batting an eye at Sarah’s outburst. “Those are simulations. It’s all part of the experiment my dear. Your friends are a part of it too.”

Sarah is about to start yelling at the man again when suddenly a thought stops her.

“The bus,” she mumbles in a voice barely above a whisper, she looks up at Doctor Rikkin and seeing the man’s evil smile makes her blood run cold, she shouts it again. “The bus! The crash! It all makes sense now! Ben, Lexie, me, that’s why we’re here! That was you!”

“You’re very quick Clarke, it only took you three simulations to understand,” chuckles Doctor Rikkin. “I’m impressed.”

“What is this place? Why would you crash that bus? Where are my friends?” demands Sarah angrily. “I want answers!”

“Your friends are perfectly fine Clarke,” says Doctor Rikkin, back to his eerily calm demeanor. “They’re simply in their own rooms.”

“Where did you take Lexie?” demands Sarah, narrowing her eyes at the doctor.

“She needed some extra medical attention, she was taken to a room more suitable to treat her in,” explains Rikkin nonchalantly. “The simulations proved to be too much for her in her condition.”

“What are these simulations you’re talking about?” asks Sarah skeptically.

“The experiences you keep referring to as dreams,” replies Rikkin. “For someone so clever you really do have a hard time keeping up.”

“What do you mean they aren’t dreams?”

“Like I said, they’re simulations, they’re not just in your head. They’re real. You are experiencing them. You are Clarke.”

“I’m not Clarke. My name is Sarah Lane. I’m eighteen years old. I live in Seattle, Washington. I have been kidnapped by some creepy old man and I’m being held captive in his ‘research facility’ whatever the hell that means. And my best friend Lexie is somewhere in this place too!”

“Would it make you feel better if I proved to you that your friend is safe?” asks Doctor Rikkin, arching his eyebrows at Sarah skeptically. “She’s right down the hall if you’d like to see her.”

“I want to see Lexie right now,” demands Sarah, her eyes staring daggers at the doctor, her voice low and poisonous. 

“Then why didn’t you just ask sooner?” asks the doctor as if Sarah were as incompetent as a small child. “Come along, let’s get going.”

Sarah climbs tentatively out of bed and follows Doctor Rikkin out of the room and into a hallway just as white and sterile as the bedroom. There are guards every few feet along the hallway and Sarah eyes them warily as she follows Doctor Rikkin to a door three to the right from hers. 

“Here we are,” announces the doctor as he pushes open the door.

Behind the door is a room identical to Sarah’s. Lexie is lying in the bed. She looks dead. Sarah rushes to her side immediately and finds her hand beneath the tangle of tubes and wires she’s attached to.

“What’s wrong with her?” asks Sarah, eyes scanning Lexie’s prone form for any signs of life.

“She’s strong, your friend,” replies Doctor Rikkin absently. “Raven has always been strong. In her current state, synchronization has been easy.”

“What are you talking about!?” demands Sarah, tears pricking in her eyes and choking her throat. “My friend could be dying and all you can think about is your fucking project!”

“My ‘project’ is the only thing keeping either of you alive right now,” retorts the doctor coolly. “You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you...Thanking you! You’re the reason she’s hurt. You’re the reason that crash happened!”

“I’m the reason you’re all going to become who you were meant to be!” roars the doctor.

Just as Sarah is about to reply, two guards enter the room and grab her by the arms, pulling her away from Lexie’s side.

“No! No! I want to stay with her! Let me go! Let me go!”

Doctor Rikkin crosses the room to her quickly and produces a syringe. Before Sarah has time to process what is happening, he’s jammed it into the side of her neck and pushed the plunger down. And suddenly the world melts away again.

“Take her to the Animus.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Clarke? Clarke!”

Clarke comes to slowly and then all at once. She finds herself staring up at the ceiling, lying on the floor of the hallway outside Raven’s room. “Clarke?” Monica's face swims into view above her. “Clarke honey, can you hear me?”

“Mom? What happened?” mutters Clarke as she struggles to sit up. "Where I am I? Am I late for school again?"

“No, no, no, just stay down for a minute. Are you sure you’re all right?” asks Abby as she gently restrains Clarke’s shoulders, her face filled with concern and confusion. "What are you talking about Clarke? Did you hit your head?"

“Mom, I’m fine. What the hell happened to me?” asks Clarke as she pushes her mother’s hands off and draws herself upright. "And why do you keep calling me Clarke?"

“Because that's your name,” replies Abby tentatively, worry edging her voice. “You collapsed. You walked into Raven’s room and then...then you just started swaying and...you fell. You said something…”

“What did I say?”

"Clarke, are you sure you didn't hit your head? Maybe I should take you down to the lab and..."

"Mom! What did I say?"

“A name...But I’ve never heard it before…”

“Mom. I need to know. What did I say?”

“Lexie, you said Lexie.”

And suddenly Clarke’s world goes black again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sarah comes to with a gasp, she tries to sit up, but finds that she’s been cuffed to her bed.

“Rikkin! Rikkin get in here and tell me what the fuck is going on!?” screams Sarah as she pulls viciously against her restraints.

Suddenly, the door swings open to reveal…

“Nate?”

The boy seems to be in shock as he stands awkwardly in the doorway, his brown eyes trained on Sarah.

“Nate!”

And suddenly, Nate has crossed the room and wrapped Sarah up in a tight hug, holding her as close as he can despite her restraints.

“Sarah!”

“Nate, Nate I’m so glad to see you!” suddenly, Sarah stops herself and pulls away from him, looking up at his face as her own expression twists in horror and shock. “Oh my God...Nate...Nate why are you here?”

Nate looks away then, tears gathering in his eyes though he tries to hide them from Sarah.

“Oh God...please...please tell me they didn’t take you too. Please tell me they haven’t been torturing you too.”

“They have all of us Sare…” Nate’s reply is so soft that Sarah can barely hear it. “You, me, Lexie, Ainsley, Ben, all of us. Everyone on that bus is here now Sarah.”

Sarah turns away from him then, tears falling down her face as she realizes the weight of Nate’s words.

“All of them?”

“All of them.”

“Oh my God.”

“Sarah...Sarah we have to get out of here….”

“I know.”

“Sarah they have my sister…”

“I know. I know Nate!” Sarah turns to her friend with tears in her eyes. “But how?”

“I don’t know...I just...I don’t know anymore…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the real world, Sarah is reunited with some friends and finds out a little bit more about the Animus then she'd like to. In a flashback, we see why there is so much animosity between Sarah, Evan, and Caitlyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains language that some might find offensive and instances of bullying. For those in the LGBTQ+ community, this chapter is not meant to discriminate or encourage hate, only to bring awareness of what bullying can do to someone trying to explore their own feelings and sexuality and to aid in the dynamic between the characters.

“Nate, where are the others? Have you been able to see any of them?”

“Yes, we’re all together, in the same dorm down the hall,” replies Nate, his eyes darting towards the door fearfully. “When Rikkin said you and Lex were here too I...I did everything I could to try and see you...Sarah...Sarah we’ve been here for three months.”

“Three months? No, no that’s insane...that’s not possible…”

“It’s true,” replies Nate gravely. “Our families, our parents, they’ve been looking for us. We’ve been stuck here at Abstergo and all they know about our whereabouts is that the bus we were on crashed in a fiery inferno and we all disappeared without a trace.”

“They don’t even know we’re alive?”

“No. Rikkin has basically wiped us off the face of the earth.”

“What the hell is this place Nate? Do you know anything? Has Rikkin been talking to you?”

“A little bit, yes,” replies Nate. “But I’m not sure you want to hear what he had to say…”

“Did he tell you why we’re here? Did he say what this Animus project of his really is?”

“Yes…” replies Nate carefully. “But...but it isn’t good Sare…”

“Nate, please, just tell me. I need to know what’s going on if we’re going to find a way out of here.”

“Have you been having any...dreams lately? Really weird dreams?”

Sarah suddenly gets wistful, looking off at the other side of the room dazedly, “Oh my gosh...he wasn’t lying then...they’re not dreams…”

“No, they’re not,” replies Nate, his voice even and solemn. “They’re part of the Animus.”

“What is the Animus?”

“It’s like virtual reality...only...different…”

“How different?”

“Sarah...the Animus is meant to show you memories...put you in the middle of them…”

“Whose memories Nate?”

“Yours...your real memories…”

“Clarke…”

“So that’s your name in there? Your real name?”

“You have one too?”

“Mine’s Bellamy…”

“Bellamy...that sounds really familiar...she thinks about you.”

“I know…”

“Nate…”

“He thinks about Clarke too…”

“Nate.”

“I think...I think they might…”

“Love each other?”

“Yeah...that…”

“It’s okay Nate, I know.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s not like they’re actually us right?”

“Right! Right…”

“See, it’s okay,” replies Sarah with a comforting smile. “But what about the others? Have you seen any of them in the...in the Animus?”

“Ainsley is there...was there...she was there the first time I went in. Her name is Octavia, she’s Bellamy’s little sister...they...they fought…”

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

“It’s called syncing. Rikkin pulls you out if you’re not completely aligned with your...with your other self. You have to give yourself over to them, let them control what’s going on.”

“Why? What’s the point of all this?”

“He wants us to realize who we really are.”

“What does that mean though?”

“According to Rikkin the Animus is the real world. This is the fake one. He says that those people in there are the real us.”

“I don’t understand.”

“None of us do.”

“You’ve only seen Ainsley then?”

“No, Riley’s there too. And Thatcher and Evan. What about you? See anyone we know?”

“Robert, but he’s acting really different…His...his other self is actually...nice,” replies Sarah wistfully. “Ben’s there, with me. And...and Lexie…”

“How is she?” asks Nate, concern edging into his voice.

“She’s not doing so good Nate,” replies Sarah tearfully. “She’s...she’s really beat up. She was hurt badly in the crash. And...and she’s bad in the Animus too…”

“How bad is bad?”

“Really bad.”

“Fuck…” mutters Nate as he turns to look at the floor, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “What are we going to do Sarah? We have to get out of here.”

“I know...I know…” replies Sarah anxiously. “We have to find a way to save everyone.”

“Just like them…”

“What?”

“Just like Bellamy and Clarke,” replies Nate, looking up at her again. “In there, they’re the leaders. They’re looking for a way to save their people, our people, our friends. In a way...in a way their situation is a lot like ours…”

“Don’t say that Nate.”

“I’m sorry, I was thinking out loud,” replies Nate as he looks away again in embarrassment. “Sarah...we have to sync with them.”

“What!? What are you talking about Nate!? You want to go along with Rikkin’s plan!?”

“No, no, we’re not going to do what he wants,” replies Nate hurriedly. “But we have to sync with the Animus world. That’s the only way to find out what’s going on here. It’s the only way to save our friends.”

“Nate…”

“Sarah, think about it. If we sync with them, we know what they’re thinking. We know what they’re going to do next. If we know that, we know what Rikkin wants us to sync with them for.”

“I don’t know about this…”

“Come talk with others, they’ll want to see you.”

“Um, Nate,” Sarah holds up her handcuffed wrists so Nate can see them.

“Oh, right, here, I’ve got something for that,” replies Nate, holding up a key.

“Where did you get that?” asks Sarah in disbelief as Nate uncuffs her.

“Rikkin, he gave it to me,” replies Nate as he pockets the key again.

“But why? Are we just coming and going as we please now?” asks Sarah incredulously.

“He said it was a peace offering,” replies Nate. “He needs us to cooperate, so he thought he’d give us a little more freedom as an incentive.”

“How generous of him,” replies Sarah sarcastically.

“Come on, let’s go,” replies Nate, holding out his hand for Sarah.

She’s hesitant, staring at his outstretched palm for a second, before taking it with a sigh of relief, “Let’s go.”

Nate leads Sarah down the hall in the opposite direction of Lexie’s room and through a door into a large, dormitory-style room lined with bunk beds. As soon as Nate and Sarah walk in they are greeted by Ainsley and Thatcher who jump up from the bunks they were sitting on to greet them. Also present are Riley, Caitlyn, Evan, and Eric who look over at the new arrivals curiously.

“Sarah!” gasps Ainsley as she rushes over to hug the older girl. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“I’m glad you’re safe Ainsley,” replies Sarah as she hugs the girl tightly, looking up at the others. “I’m glad you’re all safe.”

“Our fearless leader,” replies Evan crassly. “Come to save the day have we, Clarke?”

“Don’t call me that,” replies Sarah darkly as she releases Ainsley, turning to face Evan instead.

“What’s your deal Evan?” asks Thatcher angrily.

“That’s not my name!” shouts back Evan. “Not anymore…”

“Would you rather I call you Jasper?” snaps back Thatcher.

Evan just turns away from him, going back to pulling at a loose thread in the sheets of his bunk. Thatcher rolls his eyes at the other boy and turns back to Sarah and Nate, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a smile.

“It’s good to see you safe Sarah,” says the dark-haired boy with a smile.

“It’s good to see you too Thatch,” replies Sarah, wrapping him in a quick hug before turning to the others. “It’s good to see all of you.”

“Where’s Lexie?” asks Ainsley suddenly as she turns to her big brother again. “I thought you said you were bringing her back Nate.”

“Ainsley…”

“Lexie’s in real bad shape Ainsley,” replies Sarah, answering the question so Nate won’t have to. “She was hurt really bad when the bus crashed.”

“What...but...but why just her? Why would Rikkin save all of us, but not Lexie?”

“Because it’s all part of his plan,” replies Caitlyn suddenly, speaking for the first time as she rises from her bunk.

“Caitlyn…”

“No, Nate, she needs to know.”

“Needs to know what?” demands Sarah, turning to Nate with a look of betrayal.

“He didn’t tell you did he?”

Sarah turns to face Caitlyn again, her face contorted in confusion and anger “Tell me what? Nate, what is she talking about?”

Nate has nothing to say so Caitlyn speaks up again, “About your part in all of this.”

“Caitlyn…”

“Your alter ego, Clarke, she’s the leader,” says Caitlyn, talking over the start of Sarah’s warning. “She’s the head of the people called Sky Crew. They came to earth from a space station they’d been living on since the nuclear apocalypse. She was a falsely accused criminal. The one who sent her to prison was her mother.”

“My...my mom...what are you talking about…”

“Caitlyn!” Nate’s voice stops the conversation short. “That’s enough!”

“She needs to know Nate!”

“You’re just trying to cause trouble!”

“Enough!”

Sarah shoves herself between the two of them, holding her arms out to the sides to stop them from going at each other.

“Sarah…”

“Enough Nate.”

Sarah can see the hurt in Nate’s eyes that her words cause, but she ignores it, turning back to Caitlyn.

“Caitlyn. What were you saying about my mom? Is she here too? Is she...is she okay?”

“Your mom is not who you think she is,” replies Caitlyn calmly. 

“What?”

“In the Animus, her name is Abby. She’s a doctor in the Sky Crew camp. She’s the one Rikkin says designed this world. The world we call real. He says she did it to protect us. When...when the Animus world ended.”

“Caitlyn, you aren’t making sense…”

“Where is Clarke? In the Animus. Where is she?”

“I don’t really know. Some sort of lab…”

“Becca Praimheda.”

“What?”

“Becca Praimheda. The first commander. Clarke’s already at her lab in the memories Rikkin is putting you through. That’s where Abby discovers the plans for the Animus.”

“So, what you’re saying is that my mother...my imaginary memory mother or whoever she is...is the one behind all of this? The Animus? Abstergo? The bus crash?”

“In a way yes, she is,” replies Caitlyn. “She’s the one responsible for killing my people.”

“Caitlyn, you’re starting to scare me, what’s going on with you?”

“Caitlyn here has fully embraced her new identity,” pipes up Evan as he turns back towards the group with a smirk. “Tell them, Lexa.”

“Caitlyn no, we need you,” says Sarah desperately. “You can’t sync with your other you. That’s just what Rikkin wants!”

“She’s a leader too ya know?” says Evan again, hopping down from his bunk and swaggering towards the two girls. “She’s got her own clan and everything.”

“Caitlyn?”

“My name is Commander Lexa of Tree Crew and your mother betrayed my people.”

“She’s not my mother. She’s part of whatever sick hallucination this whole Animus thing is My real mom is back at home worried sick about where I am.”

“Whoever she is, she thinks she’s your mom and so does Rikkin,” replies Nate, startling Sarah when he speaks again. “And Caitlyn here is pissed because Abby just so happens to be the one responsible for the death of her entire people.”

“Caitlyn, I’m sorry for whatever happened to your people…”

“Did you know that at your point in our little tale, Lexa is already dead?”

“What? Wait...that doesn’t make any sense…if your character in the Animus is supposed to be the real you and this is all just some weird technologic dream sequence or something designed by my other mother...wouldn’t that mean you’d be dead here too?”

“No. Not...not exactly…”

“What Caitlyn here is trying to say is that our little buddy Doctor Rikkin thinks that her mind is still here, just not her physical body,” says Evan with a smirk as he swings himself around one of the bunk poles. “In fact, if the Doc is telling the truth, all of us are just spirit versions of ourselves and our real bodies are in a fridge somewhere waiting to be repossessed!”

“Evan shut up!” shouts Ainsley, clearly upset by what the boy has just said. “Doctor Rikkin is insane, nothing he says is true!”

“As far as we know,” retorts Caitlyn, turning to Sarah again. “For all we really know he could be telling the truth.”

“Caitlyn, Evan, that’s enough,” interrupts Nate sternly. “You’re taking this too far.”

“Guys, what are we going to do?” asks Riley anxiously, speaking for the first time as tears fill her eyes. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“Aw Riles, it’ll be okay,” mutters Ainsley as she crosses the room and takes the seat next to Riley, pulling her into a hug.

“Riley’s right,” says Thatcher, looking to Nate and Sarah. “What are we going to do?”

Sarah and Nate exchange a look before Nate speaks up again, “We don’t know yet, but we’ll think of something. We have Sarah now. She’s staying with us in here, on the extra bunk. We’ll get Lex back too, as soon as she wakes up…”

“She’s going to wake up,” interjects Sarah as Nate fades off, unsure. “She will. Soon. We just have to be patient.”

“But what if she doesn’t?” asks Caitlyn with a raised eyebrow. 

“That’s not going to happen,” snaps back Sarah angrily, staring down the other girl in defiance.

“Oh no, Cait’s right,” pipes up Evan, clearly enjoying himself. “I don’t think Sarah here knows the half of it. Nate, what have you told her?”

“Shut up Evan, I’ve told her enough,” snaps Nate, eyes darkening as he glares at the other boy.

“Clearly,” replies Evan sarcastically before turning to Sarah, though he’s still addressing Nate. “So she knows about Lexie, or should I say Raven? She knows what happens to her at the end of our little tale?”

“Nate?” asks Sarah in confusion, turning to Nate in a desperate attempt to obtain a straight answer.

“I said shut up Evan!” roars Nate, lunging at the other boy as if to tackle him.

Nate’s too slow though and Evan leaps up onto one of the upper bunks, laughing as Nate careens past him on the ground, grabbing at the air.

“Not so fast big guy,” laughs Evan with a smirk.

“Tell her Evan,” says Caitlyn coolly. “She should know.”

“Evan, I swear if you do…”

“Okay then, I’ll tell her. Sarah. Your little friend Lexie doesn’t make it. She dies just before dearest momsie finds a way to save the day and turn us all into human vegetables for a while.”

“No...no...you’re lying! You’re lying! He’s lying, Nate! Isn’t he…”

“Sarah…” Nate’s voice softens as he addresses Sarah, arms outstretched as if approaching a cornered animal. “Sarah I was going to tell you…”

“You knew!? You knew this whole time!?”

“Sarah please, I didn’t want you to…”

“Save it Nate! How could you do this to me? How could you keep all these secrets...and for what...to protect me? Bullshit! You just wanted to keep me from doing anything stupid, isn’t that right? Yeah, it is, I can see it in your eyes.”

“Sarah I don’t know what’s real anymore!” shouts Nate suddenly, his voice silencing everyone else in the room. “I don’t even know who I am or who my sister is or if any of us are even alive right now! You don’t think I’m just as confused and scared about all of this as you are!?”

“Nate…”

“Shut up Sarah and let me have my say for once!” snaps Nate, cutting her off. “All my life I’ve been living in what I thought was the real world. All my life I’ve been living as Nathaniel Hunter, high school hero, football star, big brother...and now...I don’t even know my own name. I didn’t tell you about Lexie and your mom right away because I didn’t want you to experience your world crashing down all at once like mine did. I wanted you to have time to adjust, to figure things out on your own. Bellamy’s memories...they’re complicated...when I first went into the Animus I was thrown headfirst into his head. I was forced to sync with him because I was in a coma, just like Lexie is now. I saw everything he’d ever seen all at once Sare, and...and it was bad...really bad...This Animus world is dangerous. These people we’re living as in there are dangerous. I wanted to help you through that as much as I can. So I’m sorry, I should have told you everything right away, but I chose to protect you instead.”

“Nate...I had no idea...I’m sorry,” replies Sarah softly, her heart breaking when she sees Nate trying to stifle tears. “I’m your friend, I should have stepped back to think about what all of this must be like for you. I’m sorry.”

“Forget it, it’s fine,” replies Nate roughly, brushing off the conversation. “Let’s move on to how we’re going to get out of here.”

“I think we should all get some rest first,” replies Thatcher quietly, eyes darting between Sarah and Nate nervously. “We’re all obviously not thinking straight. We’ll feel better and be able to talk about this more rationally in the morning.”

“Thatch is right,” replies Ainsley from where she and Riley are still seated on the edge of a bunk. “We need our rest.”

Nate doesn’t say anything, he just retreats to his bunk in stony silence, laying down and rolling over so that his back is to the rest of the group. Ainsley shoots Sarah a sympathetic look before moving to her own bunk. 

“That one down there is yours,” says Thatcher softly, turning to Sarah as he points to an empty bunk under Caitlyn’s. 

“Thank you,” replies Sarah, offering her friend a weak smile before going to her bunk.

“Hey ladies, are you sure you don’t want to switch bunks?” asks Evan suddenly, his eyes lighting up in the darkness as Thatcher switches off the light. “Or would you rather crawl in together?”

“Shut the fuck up Evan!” retorts Thatcher angrily, using a curse word for the first time in years.

Evan just smirks and rolls over, but Sarah can almost feel the anger and humiliation radiating off of Caitlyn as the girl shifts above her. That night, Sarah finds herself reliving a memory she thought she’d locked away for good. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“So Sarah, who are you going to ask to the Turnabout dance this year?” asks Lexie as she leans against the locker next to Sarah’s and shoots her friend a mischievous look.

“If you’re trying to get me to say Nate, then the answer is no,” replies Sarah simply. “He’s already going with Lea.”

“Oh come on Sare!” cries Lexie in desperation, throwing up her hands for emphasis. “This was your last chance! It’s his senior year! Next year there won’t be a dance to ask him to! Why did you let Lea get to him first!?”

“Because Nate is my friend,” replies Sarah. “I don’t want things to be weird between us. It would have been awkward if I’d gone with him.”

“Oh for crying out loud Sarah! You and I both know that you’ve wanted to ask Nate out since like the fifth grade!” retorts Lexie. “He would have totally said yes to you!”

“Out of pity,” laughs Sarah ruefully as she closes her locker and turns to Lexie. “He would have felt like he couldn’t have said no because of our friendship.”

“Or maybe, just maybe, he would have said yes because he likes you too,” replies Lexie, her voice softening when she sees the hurt behind Sarah’s eyes. “He may be a horribly self-absorbed jock, but he has feelings too ya know.”

Sarah sighs and clutches her books closer, “Sometimes it doesn’t seem that way. Come on Lex, we’ll be late for Calculus.”

The two friends continue down the hallway together towards their Calculus classroom. They enter Mrs. Eatmon’s class mere seconds before the bell and the teacher shoots them a disapproving look as they slide into their seats. 

“Good afternoon class,” says Mrs. Eatmon as she flicks on the SmartBoard and starts to write out an equation. “For today’s warmup please solve this equation. Make sure that you have an answer prepared in ten minutes complete with all the steps you took as we will be sharing them with the rest of the class.”

Sarah groans along with the rest of the class, but next to her, Lexie is already halfway through the problem. By the time Sarah gets started, her best friend is already finished. Lexie had always been amazing at math. About five minutes into the warm up though, the door opens and Sarah can hear a few of her classmates start to murmur as someone steps into the classroom. Sarah chooses to ignore the unexpected guest until Lexie suddenly elbows her hard in the side. When Sarah turns to yell at her friend though, she sees Lexie’s eyes are wide with panic as she jerks her head towards the front of the room.

Sarah looks up and to her horror, finds herself face to face with Caitlyn. The girl is standing nervously at the front of the classroom, pushing as her glasses and shuffling her feet, as she clutches a sign in her hands. The sign reads ‘Sarah, I don’t dance, but here I am asking you to teach me at Turnabout.’

“Oh my God…” mutters Lexie from beside Sarah, her eyes wide with fear as she turns to Sarah to see her reaction.

Sarah is stunned, she doesn’t know what to say. Nate turns in his seat to give her a confused look, Mrs. Eatmon looks shocked, the whole class is abuzz with whispers. Sarah wants to die. 

“Hey Caitlyn!” shouts a voice from the back, Evan. “Why don’t you take your little lesbian crush on out of here? We all know Sarah’s straight!”

“Evan…” Thatcher tries to get the boy to shut up, but Evan continues.

“I mean seriously? Have you seen the way she looks at Nate? Come on, everybody knows she’d never go to a dance with a girl!”

Sarah turns from Evan just in time to see the tears streaming down Caitlyn’s face before she turns and bolts out of the room. The whole class turns to Sarah in stunned silence, but Sarah has no words. Later, as she sits in Lexie’s car with her and cries about the incident, Sarah realizes that she never even went after Caitlyn.

“I just let her run off crying!” sobs Sarah. “I didn’t apologize to her, I didn’t go after her, I didn’t even tell Evan to knock it off!”

“Sarah, what were you supposed to do?” asks Lexie softly, trying her best to comfort her friend. “You were between a rock and a hard place. If you had said yes, it would have looked like you liked her back. If you had said no then she still would have been embarrassed...”

“Yes, but I didn’t have to be so damn awful about it either!” retorts Sarah through her tears. “There were so many things I should have done differently!”

“At least now nobody thinks you’re a lesbian…”

“Lexie, what am I going to do!? How do I apologize to her? How do I make it up to her?”

“I don’t know,” replies Lexie honestly. “Maybe just try talking to her? Be honest, tell her how you feel, it’s not your fault you don’t like girls.”

Despite Lexie's intent to comfort Sarah, she fails, and Caitlyn is all Sarah can think about for the next several months. Caitlyn doesn’t come to school the next day, or the day after, or any day for the next month. Her friends try to tell everyone that asks that her parents surprised her with a trip to Florida, but most of the school insists she’s just hiding from Sarah. When Caitlyn does finally return to school, most of the talk about her has died down, but Evan keeps what little is left alive. 

Sarah is walking down the hallway one day when she passes Caitlyn’s locker. ‘Lesbian Fag’ has been scrawled on the door in big red letters and Caitlyn is cornered in front of it by Evan, Robert, and a few other guys and girls, all of whom are laughing at the bespectacled girl.

“Whatcha gonna do about it you little Fag? Are you gonna cry? Look at that guys, she’s actually tearing up! You’re such a weakling Caitlyn, you know that…”

“Hey!” Sarah’s voice stops the bullies short and they turn to face her. “Leave her alone!”

“Well if it isn’t your little crush now,” muses Robert as he glares darkly at Sarah. “Evan here told me you’re the one this Fag asked to Turnabout?”

“Caitlyn did ask me yes,” replies Sarah coolly.

“And did you say yes?”

“Well, no...I didn’t…”

“Then why are you defending her?” asks Robert in mock surprise. “Is it because you might have a little crush on Caitlyn here too? You never did give her a straight answer that day in class...”

“No! No...that’s not it...I just...I…” Sarah fumbles for words for a few seconds before somebody speaks up from behind her.

"What you’re doing to her is wrong and Sarah knows it,” Lexie, come to save the day.

Sarah shoots her friend a grateful smile as Lexie steps up to her side, staring down Robert and his gang with a death glare.

“What do we have here?” croons Evan, stepping up to Robert’s side in an imitation of Lexie. “Has the true lesbian emerged from the shadow of her best friend/girl crush?”

“Fuck off Evan, go smoke a joint or something,” snaps Lexie bitterly. “You aren’t even a part of these guys’ group!”

“She’s right you know,” smirks Robert as he turns to Evan. “You’re not. Why are you here again exactly?”

“Because I’m the one who told you about this whole thing!” stammers Evan, eyes widening as he realizes what Lexie has just done. “I’m the one who had the idea to write that stuff on Caitlyn’s locker!”

“No, that was me,” replies Robert coolly.

“What? But...but you said...you said you’d tell everyone that it was me. You said you’d tell the truth, that I could be a part of your…”

“Save it you druggie and get out of here,” snaps Robert suddenly, waving his hand dismissively at Evan. “Space Geek here reminded me that I’m tired of you always hanging around.”

“Robert...please…”

“I said beat it!”

Evan scurries away without another word and Robert turns back to Lexie and Sarah.

“As for you two, stay the Hell out of my way, you got it? Next time you mess with me you’ll be sorry.”

And with that, Robert turns on his heel and leads his group back down the hallway. Sarah and Lexie exchange a look and then turn to Caitlyn who is pretending to rummage in her locker.

“Caitlyn…”

“Go away Sarah, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Caitlyn please, she just wants to talk,” begs Lexie.

“What is there to talk about?” demands Caitlyn impatiently, whirling to face the two friends and cocking an eyebrow at Sarah.

“I...I just...I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what? For turning me down?”

“No...for not...for not stopping Evan when he...when he said those things about you and....and for turning you down…”

“Oh. Well. I forgive you. If that’s what you want to hear,” replies Caitlyn nonchalantly. “To be honest, I kind of expected you to say no.”

“You...you did?” asks Sarah in confusion.

“Well yeah, Evan’s right, we’ve all seen the way you look at Nate,” replies Caitlyn dismissively. “I figured I’d give it a shot anyway though. So I put myself through complete and total humiliation...for nothing.”

“Caitlyn I really am sorry,” replies Sarah. “You understand though right? I mean...you know that if we had gone together...if I’d said yes…”

“People would have thought you were like me,” replies Caitlyn tiredly as if she has heard the response thousands of times. “Yes, I know.”

“So, you’re not mad then?” asks Sarah hopefully.

“No, I’m not mad,” replies Caitlyn flatly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for class.”

And then Caitlyn is gone, disappearing almost instantly in the crowd of students in the hallway. That was the last anyone ever saw of the old Caitlyn. After that day, something changed in her. She got colder, meaner, some could go so far as to say she became brutal. By the end of senior year, Caitlyn was known as the most feared girl in school. She was meaner than the mean girls and smarter than the nerd girls, a deadly combination. She ditched her glasses, started drinking at parties, completely abandoned her schoolwork. Sarah always felt guiltily responsible for Caitlyn’s sudden change in attitude, but the other girl refused to acknowledge her most days. As for Evan, after being rejected by Robert's group he was left with no one and he became, even more, drug addicted and uncaring. Despite some people making an effort with him, especially Thatcher who had always pitied Evan because of his home life, he wouldn't let anyone get close to him until, finally, everyone just gave up trying.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate is taken to the Animus for the first time. In the Animus, Bellamy wonders why his friends don't recognize him. In a flashback, we see the beginning of Nate, Sarah, and Lexie's friendship and learn a little bit more about each of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Bellamy/Nate's chapters, for now, are going to flash back in time to when the characters first arrived at Abstergo. This way there will be some context as to what is going on and you'll be able to see what Nate has been going through this whole time and why he thinks the way he does about the whole situation. Also, this will be a good way to get some backstory and more information on the lives the characters were living outside of the Animus and before Abstergo aka their childhood (since they really did grow up together).

“Nathaniel Hunter, we’re here to take you to the Animus.”

Nate allows the guards to lead him from the dormitory, down the hall to a large white-walled room with some sort of large, metal device in the center. Standing next to the device, with a large smile on his face, is a man in a white lab coat. 

“Hello Nathaniel, my name is Doctor Rikkin,” says the man as Nate is dragged before him. “And this is the Animus.”

Nate looks up at the claw-like machine suspended from the ceiling before him and cringes. He doesn’t like where this is going. He can tell from the way the doctor’s eyes are glinting that something bad is about to happen. He thinks about his unconscious friends back in the dormitory, about his sister. None of them have woken up in the two days they’ve been at this place. 

Nate doesn’t remember how they got here. The last thing he remembers is the bus crash. He remembers grabbing onto Ainsley and Riley and then holding them against the seatback as the bus went airborne and rolled off of the highway. He remembers the crushing fear he’d felt in his chest when he’d woken up in the charred hull of the vehicle and realized that he’d lost his grip on his sister and her best friend. 

He remembers the horrible gut-wrenching pain he’d felt when he’d looked to his side and seen Lexie’s body crumpled beneath the wreckage. He’d thought she was dead. He remembers looking to his other side and seeing Sarah, breathing, but barely. He remembers the flicker of hope he’d had when he’d seen her eyes start to open and how quickly that hope had turned to terror when he’d turned to see another pair of eyes staring down at him from above. 

He recognizes those same eyes now as he stares at the doctor and his fear turns to disgust.

“You. You were there! You were at the site of the bus crash!” roars Nate as he lunges towards the doctor only to be held back by the guards. “What were you doing there!? What is this place!? What did you do to my friends!?”

“Oh Bellamy, such a fighter you are,” chuckles Doctor Rikkin as he moves to stand beside a control panel across the room. “It seems that even in a simulation like this Doctor Griffin couldn’t extinguish that part of you.”

“What are you talking about!? You’re not making any sense!” 

“All in good time boy,” muses Doctor Rikkin as he begins to punch buttons on the control panel. “As soon as you enter the Animus, you will know what I mean.”

Suddenly, the metal machine overhead whirs to life and begins to descend towards the floor, metal arms extending out of it so that it gives off the appearance of a giant claw. 

“What is that thing!?” screams Nate in a panic, fighting desperately against the guards that push him towards it. “What are you doing to me!?”

“Relax Bellamy, it’ll all be over soon,” replies Doctor Rikkin coolly as the guards force Nate to the floor. “All this fear and panic you’re experiencing will melt away as soon as you enter the Animus. All you need to do is cooperate.”

“I’ll never do what you want!” retorts Nate as the guards hold him in place and Doctor Rikkin begins to advance. 

“Oh, I’m afraid you’ll have no choice in the matter,” replies Doctor Rikkin with a cruel smile as he produces a syringe from the pocket of his lab coat.

Nate feels a stabbing pain as the doctor injects him with the unknown serum and then nothing as his world fades into darkness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Bellamy, Bellamy wake up,” Bellamy’s eyes shoot open and he immediately goes for his gun, but someone’s hand stops his before he can reach it. “Relax, it’s only me big brother.”

Bellamy looks up with sleep-clouded eyes to see the most familiar face in his world.

“Ainsley?” asks Bellamy, sitting up suddenly, his expression morphing into one of confusion. “What are you doing here? Where are we?”

“Woah, Bell, are you okay?” asks Octavia, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “You must have been having a really weird dream...did you eat more of those hallucinogenic nuts?”

“Ainsley, what are you talking about? We have to get out of here,” replies Bellamy urgently as he looks his sister over. “Did they hurt you? Have you seen any of the others?”

“Bell, I think you should lie down again,” replies Octavia nervously as she gently pushes her brother’s hands from her face. “I’m going to go get Clarke. You just...you stay there.”

She gets up and leaves the tent then. Bellamy can hear her calling for Clarke as she goes. He looks around and takes in his surroundings, finding himself in a tent with walls seemingly made out of tarps and sticks tied together. Wherever he is, it isn’t a place equipped for proper survival. Suddenly, the tent flap opens and Sarah comes to stand before him, her brow etched with concern.

“Sarah!?” gasps Bellamy, rushing to embrace her. “Sarah, thank God you’re okay!”

“Woah there Bellamy, take it easy,” says Clarke, quickly raising her hands to block him. “You’re not doing so well. I think it’s best if you just lie down.”

“No...no I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine!” interjects Bellamy, frustration lacing his voice. “And why does everyone keep calling me Bellamy!? It’s me, Nate, can’t you see me, Sare? Don’t you know who I am?”

“My name is Clarke,” replies Clarke calmly. “And all I can see right now is that you’re very sick. You need to rest. I’ll go get you some water.”

“Wait!” yells Bellamy suddenly, catching Clarke’s arm before she can leave. “Tell me what’s going on first. Did Doctor Rikkin put you up to this? Where are we? Are you in the Animus too?”

Suddenly, Bellamy loses his balance and he staggers. Clarke catches his arm and holds him up before he can hit the floor. She looks him over with worry filled eyes before guiding him back to his cot. 

“Okay, you really need to lie down now,” says Clarke as she forces Bellamy to sit on the edge of the cot. “I can’t afford to have you out of commission, we need you.”

“Sarah please, I don’t know what’s happening to me,” replies Bellamy desperately as he feels a growing pain in his head. “I think it’s Doctor Rikkin. You need to get out of here, now, before he hurts you too!”

“Bellamy everything is okay,” replies Clarke soothingly, pushing him down onto the cot. “Doctor Rikkin is just in your head. You just ate some bad food is all. I’ll yell at Jasper about it later, but right now you need to rest.”

“Sarah my head, my head is killing me…”

“Shhh, just rest now Bell, just rest.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nate wakes up with a start and sits bolt upright, only to bang his head on the bottom of the bunk above him. Looking around, he finds himself back in the dormitory amongst his still unconscious friends. He quickly gets up and moves across the room to Ainsley’s bunk. She’s still there, breathing, alive. Safe, Nate realizes with contentment as he moves back to his own bunk. 

His sister is safe and he can rest again. The name Bellamy, his sister and Sarah forgetting who they were, who he was, he decides it was all just a really weird dream. Rolling over to his more comfortable right side, Nate closes his eyes and tries to focus on something else. Happier memories from a long ago childhood that he now longs to return to.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Nate! Stop that!” Sarah’s laughter sounds through the backyard as Nate chases her with the garden hose.

“Not until you admit that I won the popsicle eating contest!” retorts Nate, aiming the hose like a gun at Sarah’s back.

“I won fair and square and you know it!” laughs Sarah as she climbs up to one of the lower tree branches of the big oak in the middle of Nate’s yard to stand with her hands on her hips. “I ate one more than you did.”

“Because you cheated!” laughs Nate as he sprays her again, causing her to squeal and jump off the branch, landing expertly on her feet before she takes off running towards her own yard. 

“Your hose can’t reach me over here!” she teases over her shoulder as she flies through her gate. 

“Oh yeah,” laughs Nate as he soaks his head before running after her. “Well, I’ve got an even better idea!”

Soon Sarah is being chased around her own backyard by Nate, who shakes his wet curls at her like a dog. The two sixth graders are having the time of their lives, left to their own devices for the afternoon while their parents are attending a PTO luncheon along with Nate’s little sister Ainsley. Just as Nate is about to overtake Sarah, a familiar brunette head pops over the fence.

“Are you two trying to kill each other or is this your idea of flirting?”

“Lexie!” exclaims Sarah, rushing to hug her friend as Lexie drops down from the top of the fence. “I didn’t know you were coming over today!”

“I was bored,” replies Lexie as she hugs Sarah back. “My dad let me work with him in the garage for a bit this morning, but he took my Abuela to the market for the afternoon so I thought I’d stop by your place and see what you were doing.”

“We were just messing around with the garden hose,” replies Sarah sheepishly. “Nate’s mad because he thinks he won our popsicle eating contest, but really I was the winner.”

“Except you’re also a cheater,” retorts Nate teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows at Sarah. 

“Well, regardless of who won, I think we all deserve something cold to drink,” replies Lexie, wiping sweat from her brow for emphasis. “It’s got to be 80 degrees out!”

“Back in Texas this kind of weather is nothing,” laughs Nate as he grabs a towel to dry himself off with. “Over there hot is 100 degrees!”

“I would die,” replies Sarah in shock. 

“And I would have melted 20 degrees earlier!” exasperates Lexie. “Come on! Let’s go get a soda from the corner shop and then....maybe we can go to the old Lookout?”

“Sure Lex,” replies Sarah with a smile. “That sounds great. Let me just leave a note for our parents.”

Nate rolls his eyes at Sarah as if to tease her for her concern about their parents. Despite none of the middle schoolers being allowed to have cell phones, their parents often didn’t worry when they went out and about on the town. Nate thought it was strange, Seattle certainly wasn’t the most child-friendly of places and there was always the possibility that something bad might happen, but none of their parents seemed to mind that the children ventured out on their own. As long as they were home in time for dinner.

When Sarah returns a few moments later, her already drying hair has been pulled back and she’s changed her clothes. Nate doesn’t bother with his own wet clothes and by the time the kids are halfway down the street, his hair is already dry. The threesome makes their way to their usual shopping destination, ‘Penny’s Corner Market’, and sigh in relief when they are greeted by a blast of air conditioning just inside the front doors. 

“Hello you three, here for some more soda?” asks the clerk from behind the counter, her eyes shining at the three youngsters. 

“Yes ma’am,” replies Sarah, ever the well-mannered young lady. “We’d like three cherry Cokes please.”

“Three cherry Cokes coming right up,” replies the cashier as she produces the sodas from a cooler and rings them up. “That’ll be three dollars.”

Nate hands over the money, never letting the girls pay, and then the kids thank the cashier before heading out towards the Lookout. The Lookout was a favorite spot for the neighborhood kids in elementary school, but since most of them had gone on to middle school, it now sat abandoned most of the time. Nobody really knew who had first erected the old plywood fort on the hill, but everyone knew and loved it just the same. For Nate, Sarah, and Lexie, the Lookout was filled with some of their best memories and, despite being pressured by their friends to let it go now that they were all growing up, they just couldn’t bear to see it rot away on its own.

Now, as they made their way up the steep hill to the fort, using the worn rope that still hung down its side, Nate was overcome with nostalgia and love for the place. It was here that he’d first met Sarah and Lexie, his lifelong best friends, on the first day of the summer before fifth grade. Nate had just moved to Seattle from Texas because of his dad’s job and he’d been exploring the neighborhood when he’d stumbled upon the Lookout. And Sarah and Lexie with it. 

Nate hadn’t always been nice to the girls. He’d chased them from the Lookout and bullied them at school, teasing them relentlessly. He hadn’t known why he did it. Only that whenever he was around Sarah he got this funny feeling in his stomach that made him confused as to whether he wanted to puke, run away, or maybe even do the unthinkable and...kiss her. That was a thought that made him want to puke more than anything else. 

While the Lookout had been the start of Nate’s bullying of the girls, it had also been the birthplace of their friendship. Nate had found the girls there one night, Sarah crying on Lexie’s shoulder, and was shocked to find out that Sarah’s mom was remarrying. Nate knew that Sarah’s dad had died when she was in second grade, but nobody had ever thought she would get married again. It was hard for the kids to comprehend. But, somehow, they found they could all relate to each other in that moment. Lexie’s mother had left her dad when Lexie was only four years old leaving her dad heartbroken. Nate felt he could relate as his own father had promised to never remarry after the death of Nate’s mother when she had Ainsley. Ever since that night when the three of them had cried together, they’d been fast friends, and Nate had started protecting the girls rather than bullying them. 

Now, as the three friends, about to start the next chapter of their lives as middle schoolers, sat in the Lookout staring out at the city below them, they each remembered that night and they each felt more grateful for each other than they ever had before. 

“I love you guys,” says Lexie suddenly, leaning her head onto Nate’s shoulder where he sits between her and Sarah.

Lexie had always been the most openly and physically affectionate of the group, but the other two welcomed her sometimes random displays because it balanced their more quiet and hands-off natures.

“I love you guys too,” replies Nate, for once being open with his feelings as he puts an arm around both girls. 

“Let’s make a promise right now that, no matter what, we’ll always be friends,” says Sarah, holding out her pinky in front of Nate in the middle.

Lexie immediately loops her pinky with Sarah’s and then both girls turn towards Nate, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to complete his end of the promise.

“Really, a pinky promise?” asks Nate with a cocked eyebrow, looking between the girls’ entwined pinkies and their faces. “Didn’t we stop doing these in like first grade?”

“Oh come on Nate, don’t be a spoilsport!” teases Lexie, punching him lightly in the arm.

“Ow!” retorts Nate teasingly. “Okay, okay, fine. I pinky promise that we’ll always be friends.”

And then Nate loops his pinky with the girls’ and the deal is sealed. The friends never did break their promise to each other. Not even when times got tough. And they did get tough. Really tough.


End file.
